Watercooler Wednesday: Halley Quillinan, ILWomen Editor

Welcome to the third installment of Watercooler Wednesday! Ashley McCulloch will chat with someone in the lacrosse community — a coach, a player, a referee, you name it. McCulloch was a two-time All-American at Virginia and is Inside Lacrosse's Assistant Director of Events. Check in every other week throughout the season for her Q&A — you never know who you might talk to at the watercooler!

Today, she interviews the newest team member to IL, Women’s Editor, Halley Quillinan.

Quick FactsName: Halley QuillinanFrom: Glenmont, New YorkHigh School: Bethlehem Central High SchoolCollege: Syracuse UniversityHonors/Accolades: 4 x IWLCA All-American, 4 x All-BIG EAST Honoree, 2 x NCAA All-Tournament Team, US National Team member '08-'09Biggest game you've ever played in: I'm not sure it's the “biggest” game I've ever played in, as we played in a pair of national semifinal games; but my sophomore year at Syracuse we beat UNC in the NCAA quarterfinals in the Carrier Dome. It was the first time in program history a team had advanced to the semifinals and it was just such an exciting win for the entire team.

Welcome to the IL Staff! When did you first start playing lacrosse?

Thank you — happy to be here! I started playing when I was about 9 or 10 for a club team in the Albany area. I was actually pretty terrible, but it was a lot of fun learning a new sport. Lacrosse wasn't something that most kids my age were playing at the time up there.

One of the biggest decisions a high school student athlete makes is selecting a college. What were some of the factors that influenced you in choosing Syracuse and what other schools did you consider?

There were so many factors that played into my decision of going to Syracuse. For starters, I was always extremely interested in getting into broadcasting and journalism and Syracuse University's Newhouse School is one of the strongest in the country. On the other hand, I wasn't 100% sold on that career path, either. I'm not sure any 15 or 16 year old knows exactly what they want to do. With so many colleges within the University, Syracuse offered a number of options when it came to choosing classes to take and a declaring a major.

Lacrosse-wise, it seemed like a no-brainer. The program was strong, but I knew I had an opportunity to play early on if I worked hard. The Carrier Dome is about two and a half hours away from my hometown, so my parents and family were able to come see me play and I was able to make short trips home to be with them, too. My former high school coach, John Battaglino, was the assistant there at the time. One of best friends and former high school teammate, Katie Rowan, was a freshman on the team. I visited so many schools, but when I visited Syracuse, simply, I just got a feeling of “this is where I'm supposed to be.” The team, the rich tradition the program boasts, the school. I knew I wanted to wear orange.

How do you see the women’s game growing and expanding in the upcoming years? Will we eventually see more games televised?

I think it's such an exciting time for the sport of lacrosse, in general; but women's lacrosse is just growing at an incredibly rapid pace. In the past few years we've seen some huge sports schools, such as Florida, Michigan and Southern California, pick up lacrosse programs. Not to mention a number of high school programs are starting up, year after year. Young girls are picking up lacrosse sticks in “non-hotbed” areas and absolutely falling in love with the sport. With the continued growth of the game nationwide, I think more and more television coverage will follow.

If you could change or implement one rule for the game, what would it be?

I'm not sure in what capacity the rule would live in our game (I'd have to think a bit more about that!), but I'd like to see a “stall warning” be put in place. One of the most exciting aspects to our game is that it's the fastest game on two feet. More recently, we've seen the pace of play slowed down — especially in some of the biggest games on the national stage. At no fault of any coach or team that plays that style — I'm competitive, I definitely like to win and if that's how to secure the 'W,' so be it — but, it just makes it an unenjoyable sport for the fans to watch. Keeping the safety of the players in mind, I don't think a shot clock is the way to go; but, possibly a stall warning would speed the game back up a bit more.

I know it’s only March but who are your picks to make the Final Four and the eventual champion?

Hmm... Based on the lacrosse we've seen thus far this season, I'd have to go with North Carolina to start. They're playing some pretty flawless lacrosse. Maryland and Syracuse are two teams I think we'll see there. Lastly — possibly a dark horse — how about Penn? I like their defense this year. They've been young back there the past few seasons, but they're experienced and healthy this year. I just love the way Coach Corbett has her team play defensively.

Before starting at Inside Lacrosse you worked for a PR Company in NYC, what was that like?

I was working for a boutique fashion, hospitality & lifestyle firm in Manhattan called SHADOW PR. Honestly, the city is one of my favorites places in the world. I love the energy of New York City and living there these past few years right out of college has been incredible. Throughout my career in public relations, I was able work some pretty amazing events spanning the US Open, New York Fashion Week shows & after parties, Tribeca Film Festival events, so on and so forth.

Above and beyond that, I worked for people who were just incredibly passionate about what they do. I think that's part of the reason I came here to IL; to do something that I'm very passionate about. I've contributed to ILWomen for a few years now and I have always had passion for writing. That coupled with my love of the game, it's a perfect fit.

What advice would you give to girls that are about to graduate and trying to figure out what their career path will be?

I think that no dream or aspiration is too big, or too small. One of the best tidbits of advice that was given to me by my mom when I was trying to figure out what to do is “just do it.” I think she stole it from somewhere... But seriously, get out there, make as many calls and send as many emails as you can to people doing things you “think you want to do” and hear what they have to say: what their day-to-day is like, what they did to get to where they are, what advice they have to offer you. Don't be afraid to explore your options.